"Maurizio Abate is a self-taught guitarist, active since the 2000s, with a distinctive approach to experimentation. Since 2006 he has done several recording sessions, released on some LPs under his own name and other collective groups, and has collaborated with David Vanzan and Virginia Genta (Jooklo), Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple), Luca Massolin (Golden Cup), and many others. He is currently involved in the project Eternal Zio and plays live in the project BeMyDelay. This record aggregates many of his recent influences, from the meditative Krautism of Popol Vuh to an inalienable passion for blues guitar. Some of the tracks were sketches that he worked on, others were the result of long improvisations which were rearranged and mixed later. The record also features contributions from good friends such as Rella The Woodcutter, BeMyDelay and Alberto Boccardi, and features an excerpt from an interview with Aldous Huxley on "Towards the Outside."" - Black Sweat.

"This acoustic guitar album is a big change for experimental musician Maurizio Abate. After many years of psychedelic albums combining improvisation with a creative recording process, he composed Loneliness, Desire and Revenge based on a more traditional method -- solo acoustic guitar. In the winter of 2014 he organized a series of Italian screenings of James Cullinghams 2013 documentary In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey, giving occasional solo guitar performances before screenings, and that occasion encouraged him to experience the guitar solo language. After playing these compositions at live shows, Maurizio decided to record the tracks in an almost definitive way, though the live interpretation of the songs is always mutating. He recorded alone in his house between Christmas 2014 and New Years Day 2015 on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, performing acoustic guitar and, in a couple of songs, electric guitar and harmonica. Loneliness, Desire and Revenge is an intimate and confidential album, evoking the musicians moods and emotions, and a document of Abates transition from improvisational electric sound to instrumental songwriting for acoustic fingerstyle guitar. Maurizio Abate is a self-taught guitarist active since the early 2000s with an instinctive approach to experimentation. Always looking for new forms of expression, he is committed to shaping the blues, folk, and psychedelic tradition in a personal and unique way. Driven by a strong fascination for stringed instruments, he has been involved in many recording sessions since 2006, releasing several LPs under his name or with other groups, and he has toured extensively in Italy and across Europe. Abate started performing live in 2006, playing electric guitar in styles ranging from free-from to noise and ambient. After various collaborations with improv-psychedelic ensembles (Eternal Zio, Neokarma Jooklo, Golden Cup, Rella the Woodcutter, BeMyDelay), he has developed a live performance based on a processed hurdy-gurdy, harmonica, and electronics through which he creates meditative, ritual desert soundscapes. Collaborations since then include the 2016 album Superficie with Alberto Boccardi and the 2015 album La pelle del fantasma with Giovanni Donadini (Canedicoda, Ottaven) as Arbre du Tenere (HOL 084LP)." - Black Sweat.

"A young boy found and raised by American missionaries, the only survivor of a nonviolent African tribe whose members, entranced by ancient rhythms, had the ability to communicate with animals and run like cheetahs... Pulled away from this original enchanted world, he grew up among Westerners. He tried to adapt as much as he could but remained very much rooted in the land of his ancestors. Still haunted and nourished by his origins, he engraved the rhythms of his land into the grooves of an Omega Disk..." The year is 1959 and exotica music is in full swing. Beautiful women with banana belts and flower necklaces are gathering serious attention by seducing each and every average Joe dreaming of sunny holidays on exotic islands populated by colorful birds. Low-cost travel and mass tourism were on their way. Chaino and His African Percussion Safari were capable of playing for 17 hours straight -- seven percussion instruments at the same time. They recorded Jungle Echoes in a sublime delirium; its an absurd myth and an imaginary product of the past. A unbelievable record made of rhythms and shouts; a jungle, a furnace, a disturbing trip into the imaginary world of this unrivaled percussionist, this son of Africa -- regardless of the myth surrounding his real origin. A dangerously addictive and syncopated atomic bomb of a record. Reissued by Black Sweat Records with Moi JConnais." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records presents an album from Milan-based psychedelic band Al Doum & The Faryds. Good vibrations and resonances are distributed along nine tracks, which explores worlds of peace. Jungles, abysses, distant stars -- every place can be the location for the expression of Cosmic Love, thanks to the usual blend of traditional and exotic instruments (sitar, balafon, rabab, djembe, conga, quena), including space effects and loving choirs. Recorded at El Guscio studio in Milan at the end of 2013. Limited edition of 400 vinyl copies." - Black Sweat.

“The Positive Force LP is a collaboration between Black Sweat Records and Julia Dream Recordings, in an edition of 300 copies. The music is the result of combining psychedelic music (first of all, Krautrock) and ethnic sounds; also using ethnic instruments such as darbuka, mbira, Tibetan bells, rhaita, and sitar to create a good ear-trip. This is what has been written about them by Julian Cope: "This fucking righteously Out There declaration comes on like a lobotomized Xhol Caravan meets Shivas Tongue meets one of those low, low-grade reggae recording bands like Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus, all jamming-ah on the 100° Fahrenheit obsidian-strewn plains of Southern Sardinia. Yes, its hot. Throughout these proceedings, therefore, mucho Arabian percussion is shaken and kicked, much soul-clapping is embarked upon, and several times repeated Middle Eastern flutensax themes of extreme unmemorability perk up then dwindle with an almightily stoned purposelessness. All quite exquisite. And although arid M. Karoli EBow occasionally flames up to provide a vast horizon of cosmick beauty, the Faryds main themes always remain so VU-crunchy and agricultural down at their What bottom end?, that even the off-kilter lipping of their sub-sub-Madness/Faust-style sax warbler appears sumptuous by discs end. A fuck of a journey, kiddies, you gots to hear these cosmic jokers on repeat in order best to witness the dissolving of your immediate world." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present a vinyl issue of DSR Lines Spoel, which appeared only on cassette in 2014. This new double LP edition features three unreleased tracks. David Edrens organic minimal electronics are never majestic or magniloquent (like Schulze or Froese), and never neurotic or aggressive for that matter. It is a soft music, delineating echoes of sacred geometry in the emotional balance between oscillations, frequency modulations, and rhythmic pulsations. Diamonds, mineral combinations, emerald luminescence, hydrogen cascades, and stratospheric colors, like on Jupiter and Saturn... a dance of asteroids and meteorites in orbit, and satellites of silent harmonies. But Spoel is not just a departure to the unknown space. Its more of an attempt to create a miniature description of another macrobiotic life of "unfolding planets," which is first interior, then exterior. A refined touch with an array of analog instruments creates small sketches of cellular symphony, like in an anatomical trip of hidden micro-bodies, listening to blood streams, vibrational motions of Prana, muscle strings, or air passages. The general tone has little in common with the "oriental void", but there is an evident desire for quiet as a prelude to the Satori. All this makes Spoel a great micro-tonal investigation work and connects Edren with great visionaries such as Micheal Hoenig, JD Emmanuel, or Tontos Expanding Head Band." - Black Sweat.

“One of the most original and innovative Krautrock bands, Embryo fused traditional ethnic music with their own jazzy space-rock style. Over their 40 year existence, during which Christian Burchard has been the only consistent member, the group has traveled the world, playing with hundreds of different musicians and releasing over 20 records. This is a never-before-released jams recorded live in 1976 in various locations. This is the only recording of their collaboration with the Italian jazz legend Massimo Urbani during a wild live performance in a church in Udine, Italy. If you freaked out on Jimmy Jacksons organ-playing on Steig aus, then Message from Era Ora is right up your alley. Dieter Miekautsch is heavy on his Fender Rhodes and Urbanis alto sax fits like a glove on this exuberant but relaxed fusion Kraut session. Christian Burchards drumming is as agile as ever, while Uve Muellrichs bass gallops alongside Roman Bunkas funky, psychedelic guitar. Message from Era Ora is much more than just another unearthed archival recording, its a rare occasion to actually feel the enthusiasm and joy that fuelled their jams back in 1976.” - Black Sweat.

"Its amazing to me that a recording from 1976 can sound so pummeling during a tom-tom rape while a lot of the records I spin from NOW dont carry the same gut-sucking punch. Beyond that, if you get inside these compositions and stay with them from top to bottom it becomes apparent there are wicked forces at work here, and nothing short of a tractor-beam pull is required to put jammy jazz-prog, drenched in Fender Rhodes, like this across. They nail it, and have fun doing it." - Tiny Mix Tapes.

"Probably one of the most underestimate artists of electronic music from the early 80s, has been lately rediscovered. An expert modulator of electronic and natural sounds, with this work JD Emmanuel seems to recall and reflect extensively on the poetics of the cyclic and mantric sound investigated by other pioneers such as Terry Riley and La Monte Young. The microtonal patterns of the compositions are animated by dense and minimum pulses that amplify the hypnotic and meditative dimension and can be colored by Tibetan suggestions or guitar glissandi. Flows and reflections of sounds define abstract landscapes but remain always deeply reverent with nature and its micro-cosmic variations. In this way, Echoes from Ancient Caves is ideally connected to the previous experimentations of Rain Forest Music (1981) and Wizards (1982). 500 copies on black vinyl + a download link for the digital edition." - Black Sweat.

“The rediscovery of J D Emmanuel by critics and audience in the early 2010s and Emmanuels comeback to underground scene were crucial in reweaving the development of electronic music in the early 80s. This deluxe three-LP set casts new light on Emmanuels first activity of composing and performing electronic music in 1979-83, collecting experiments never before released on vinyl, some of which are previously unreleased in any form. Certainly seminal minimal works such as Four Organs (1970) and Violin Phase (1967) by Steve Reich and A Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley (1969) -- as well as Cluster, Harmonia, and Peter Michael Hamels early-70s work -- had a decisive impact on Emmanuels debut. However, since his beginnings he has reshaped and reformulated his sources of inspiration with unparalleled maturity and accuracy of vision. His poetry is closely tied to the will to expand consciousness and explore altered states, but more than a cosmic traveler, he appears as a courier of soul and heart -- a self-described "student of the metaphysical nature of the Universe." Magician of an incredible variety of analog keyboards, Emmanuel conceives sound as dynamic translation of forces and organic, expanding flows of energy. The cyclicity of patterns and phrases refers to minimalist traditions, but his music has little in common with something purely mathematical; using an approach to improvisation colored by his interests in jazz and the temporal expansion of rock jams, he charges harmonic sections with an intimate spontaneity and freedom without boundaries. These 14 "vaporous drawings," presented with photos and writings, evoke a primordial state of grace in the listener, in parallel to Emmanuels contemporary ancestral work Wizards from 1982 (IMPREC 305CD). (This set contains two tracks that were initially included on the original Wizards release, but replaced by other tracks just before the final master.)” - Black Sweat.
Sound Paintings by J D Emmanuel

"An outstanding raga-like drone LP with a distinctive cosmic vibe, Futuro Antico was a short-lived collaboration between the two Italians Walter Maioli (Aktuala), Riccardo Sinigaglia and Gabin Dabiré (from Burkina Faso). The synthesis between ancient, ethnic and analog electronic music is just perfect, the minimalist repetition with slight changes lends associations to slow growth; cyclic repetition gives the listener an opportunity to discover the sounds, to meditate, to go into the music, join the same journey through ancient, primitive cultures and modern electronic soundscapes. Originally released in 1980, the sound is completely analog and warm. This limited to 300 copies reissue maintains the original tape artwork, with info and photos." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records presents the CD version of Dai Primitivi All Elettronica, Futuro Anticos 1980 second album, which Black Sweat reissued on vinyl in 2014 (BS 009LP). An outstanding raga-like drone album with a distinctive cosmic vibe, Dai Primitivi All Elettronica is the second release by the short-lived collaboration between two Italian musicians, Walter Maioli (Aktuala) and Riccardo Sinigaglia, with Gabin Dabire (from Burkina Faso). The synthesis between ancient, ethnic, and analog electronic music is just perfect. The minimalist repetition with slight changes recalls slow growth, and the cycles afford an opportunity to discover the sounds, to meditate, to go into the music, to join the same journey through both ancient, primitive cultures and modern electronic soundscapes. The sound is completely analog and warm. This reissue maintains the original tape artwork and includes info and photos." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present Isole Del Suono, unreleased high quality recordings of the Italian experimental trio, Futuro Antico. The sound experience its a mysterious synergy between the elements of nature, a magical encounter between different souls but with elective affinity. Maiolis ancient and ethnic wind instruments are the breath of the air, Sinigaglias electronic spirit produces liquid sequences of the water, while Dabirés African percussions materialize the voice and rhythms of the earth. The result is a total creative fire, a foamed core of perceptions and multiple sensory universes of distant memory. The dialogue between archaic and futuristic already investigated in 1990s historic Dai Primitivi All Elettronica (BS 009CD/LP) sees another bright episode in this unreleased live music, recorded on tapes directly by the mixing console - a product of the memorable performance held in Bologna at the festival Isole Del Suono on July, 17th 1980. The secret harmony between sounds is complete but at the same time brings out the expressive specificity of the three individual personality: the subtlety of reiterate sonic textures, waterfalls of minimalist piano, Sufi atmospheres supported by sequence of organs that reinterpret the frequencies of harmoniums lost, the solemn gait of an African balafon absorbed in electronic vortices endless. These are some of the coordinates of a musical and cultural poetics that continue a search for the source of formal purity and multiplicity of stimuli." - Black Sweat.

“For the first time on vinyl, Black Sweat Records presents this obscure gem from the Italian project Futuro Antico, released only on tape in 1980. This record contains a hypnotic session from members Walter Maioli (Aktuala) and Riccardo Sinigaglia. Warm analog sounds, and a perfect mix of drone synth and ancient flutes make you feel like youre flying on a spaceship towards exotic locales. If this record reminds you of the incredibly astonishing live Köln jam between Terry Riley and Don Cherry, the comparison fits. In a limited edition of 300 copies, this reissue features the original tape artwork with info and photos inside.” - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records presents the CD version of Futuro Anticos 1980 debut self-titled album, which Black Sweat reissued on vinyl in 2014 (BS 010LP). A hypnotic session from Italian collaborators Walter Maioli (Aktuala) and Riccardo Sinigaglia, the album is the perfect mix of drone synth and ancient flutes, with a distinct analog warmth. The sound even recalls the astonishing 1975 jams of Terry Riley and Don Cherry in Cologne. This reissue maintains the original tape artwork and includes info and photos." - Black Sweat.

"Unreleased recordings of future members of Aktuala and I.P. Son Group. The history goes back in the alternative Milan of the early 70s, to the flavor of the first jam-blues of that era where musicians from different parts of the world (India, Africa or South-America), and of disparate backgrounds and cultures, gathered together to experiment just with an authentic sense. These four tracks seem to retrace the path of that spirit with which great pioneers, such as John Mayall and Alexis Corner, the essence of the Afro-American music masters ferried from overseas. On 1972 Blues Jazz Session, the devotion to the blues roots remains strong but an aerial and wandering component, colored as if by a magic of exotic and spiritual accents, leaks into the compositions. Hypnotic patterns of guitars flowing almost like slowed raga-grooves, free-jazz horns blowing winds of the ancient seas of the south, while voices and percussions span distant Latin or African horizons. Gruppo Afro Mediterraneo throws its eye on a cultural dimension more extensive and composite and therefore constitutes a fundamental historical document for a crucial period of Italian underground." - Black Sweat.

“This LP contains Music Out of the Moon and Perfume Set to Music, containing some of the first electronic chillout music ever composed, originally released in 1947 and 1948 on 10" 78 RPM. An unusual mix of different styles and music represented by the three men who contributed to the album: Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman played Theremin for several sci-fi and horror movies during the 40s and the 50s -- masterpieces such as Spellbound and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Les Baxter "The Father of Exotica" and his dreams of Pacific and Oriental islands can also be found here -- musical impressions of tropical fantasies. Harry Ravel is also featured, a talented English composer of musical theater and soundtracks for Hollywood movies. These two records were unique collaborations between three disparate talents, who envisioned a world of sound inspired by science fiction, perfumes, and meditative moments. Without them, the Theremin could perhaps never have been considered in a pop context, and projects as disparate as "Good Vibrations" and Silver Apples might never have happened. The influence of this music is clear in the multiform artist Sun Ra, who covered the song "Possession" on his second LP Jazz by Sun Ra. Digitally remastered and limited.” - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present a reissue of I.P. Son Groups self-titled album, originally released in 1975. Released in 1975, during the mature stage of the Italian underground scene, this only album from the Milanese band led by guitarist Marco Rossi comes off as an experiment rather atypical of that period; The typical jazz sound of that period being exemplified by formations such as Perigeo, Napoli Centrale, Agora, or Arti e Mestieri. I.P. Son Group provide improvisations on suggestions of extra-European ethnic flavor, enhanced by the masterful rhythmic section (without drums) curated by the African percussionists Nick Eyok and Mohammed El Targhi. The result is a complex work, full of nuances, in which the spirit of the free-jam excels on the synthesis of influences and visions. Refined guitar riffs revealing strong blues roots blend with the elements and moods of the most markedly spiritual and exotic free-jazz (Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane or Archie Shepp). Winds are perfumed of the Middle East flow as distant echoes with ideas of tribal rhythms that draw both from the rhythms of the northern Sahara as well as more Afro-beat rituals of Yoruba ancestry. In the background, the poetic persistence of intercultural exchange that approaches the I.P. Son Group is paralleled by projects such as Aktuala, Arica or John Berberian. This reissued edition is enriched with an amazing photo booklet by Aldo Bonasia." - Black Sweat.

"After the 1978 exploits of Osmose, Ariel Kalma returned to the studio in 1980 to create the space-ambient library record Interfrequence, reissued here for the first time. In a continuation of Kalmas personal research into the combination of electronic machines with natural sounds and acoustic instrumentation, the French musician plays the master of ceremonies with his synths, but he diverges from the symphonic, galactic suites composed by other standard-bearers like Richard Pinhas and Klaus Schulze. One finds 18 short sound-pictures (a few of them in collaboration with M. Saclays) that emanate an unparalleled variety of ideas and ethno-cultural influences. Kalmas distinctive compositional style always returns in a crescendo of ecstatic emotions reflecting on the hidden and secret aspects of the micro- and macro-cosmos. If in Osmose the sampling from the mother Gaia was more explicit, here nature is investigated not only in terms of pure tones, but also in the dynamics of flows and movements dictated by the frequency of Moogs and organs. Complete with embellishments of hyper-space flutes, trumpets, and clarinets, Interfrequence is yet another chapter in Kalmas personal saga of sound imagery discovery." - Black Sweat.

"Before appearing in his works as a musician, Ariel Kalma seems to reveal himself as a philosopher; a solitary explorer of higher and deeper consciousness. Influenced by his relationship with Indian classical music, he transfigures the acoustic-ecstatic dimension typical of the tanpura raga by modulating synths and horns. The work reissued here originally appeared on two different cassettes in 1981 and 1982, but is ideally one unique project. With Musique Pour le Rêve et lAmour, Kalma infinitely expands the reverberations of the flute, multiplying the nuances with phasing organ loops that recall the beginnings of Terry Riley. The second part, Music for Dream and Love, is structured like a oceanic carpet of aquatic, airy, reflective sounds; an unlimited shore from which there seem to emerge voices of celestial entities." - Black Sweat.
Musique Pour le Reve et l'Amour by Ariel Kalma

“Originally composed between 1981 and 1984 and initially appeared only on tape in two different editions, the proposed material from Ariel Kalmafor this work confirms his pantheistic vision of the ethnic sound that had already emerged in 1978 with the masterpiece Osmose (BS 007LP). The deep consciousness of the compositional techniques of Indian ragas is mixed here with embroidered electronic textures on which flute and sax explore the most secret archetypal elements of nature. In this way Kalma offers to the listener a personal idea of sacred music with luminous and oneiric tones but always dialoguing with a higher cosmic conception of things. With a clever use of effects, harmonium, delays and exotic percussions, Kalma becomes the creator of soundscapes from the endless myriad shades. Such a fusion of Western avant-garde and eastern tradition approaches other big names of the international panorama such as Popol Vuh, Angus MacLise or László Hortobágyi. The master comes from the original 1/4 analog tape from the 80s. Limited edition of 300 copies in a gatefold cover with info.” - Black Sweat.
Ariel Kalma - Open Like A Flute by Ariel Kalma

"Born and raised in Paris, Ariel Kalma studied electronics, computer science, music and art in Paris, performed with several bands, then toured the world and visited Europe, Japan, India, Eastern Canada, and parts of the USA. Apart from rhythm & blues, pop and jazz, he acquired assorted experiences in Middle Age French, electro-acoustic, and modal music. All the travels broadened Ariels musical horizons tremendously; listening to and playing with different styles, people, and instruments, intricate scales, techniques, timing and rhythms. After learning circular breathing from a snake charmer in India, Ariel practiced it on soprano sax (for many sleepless nights) in the basement of a cathedral in New York, when he was not playing upstairs on the large harmonium. Returning to France in late 76, Ariel could include those endless notes into his own long-delay-effect system with which he toured, playing solo concerts. Ariel contributed to the birth of (then) new music genres: minimalist, space, ambient, new age, and electronic. In 1977, Paris, Ariel Kalma was preparing an album of new music. Through an INA connection, Ariel was recommended to Richard Tinti, who had just come back from Borneo (Papua New Guinea) with hours of rainforest ambiences in high quality recordings (on a Nagra recorder). To their amazement, birds and keyboards, flutes and crickets, saxophones and frogs, war drums and (very vintage) drum machines had much in common in terms of pitch, rhythms, effects (i.e. crickets and fast flanged synthesizer). Ariel decided to blend his new compositions with the rainforest atmosphere, and thus Osmose was created. Limited edition of 400.” - Black Sweat.

“2015 repress. Released on tape by the Polish label Sangoplasmo, Edena is the amazing record by Polands Piotr Kurek. As a composer and multi-instrumentalist with a penchant for vintage sound equipment, as well as the practical sense to know where their limitations are, his musical compositions -- part melodic narrative, part sound collage -- distill a sense of nostalgia into a romance for the present. Using a Moebius comic he had never seen (Le Monde dEdena) and an instrument he would never have (a Mellotron) as a conceptual starting point, the Warsaw-based, Polish artist presents Edena. A hypnotic, circular motion pervades all of Edena; a cyclic life-force that gives the impression of forward motion, while really folding back on itself, reflected by the infinity symbol of the cassette cover. The record is full of warm analog synth sounds and strange voices, like Roberto Cacciapaglias "6 Note in Logica," and shares connections with the minimalistic music and 60s experimentalism of Steve Reich, Philip Glass and the hyper-energetic electronic nirvana of Terry Rileys 1967 masterpiece A Rainbow in Curved Air.” - Black Sweat.

”Characteristically for Kurek, the sounds here are rich and whimsical, going for the kaleidoscopic, happy-go-lucky electronica with a penchant for some masterful sample collages. Like the cut-up female voices and brilliantly sparse xylophone workouts on Tonal Colors, effortlessly gliding through a Technicolor rainbow of retro psychedelia ... Piotr Kurek proves once again that hes one of the masters of Polish trippertronic scene, constantly one-upping himself into new levels." --Weed Temple

"Black Sweat Records present a reissue of Gaetano Liguori Collective Orchestras self-titled album, originally released in 1976. The Collective Orchestra was a visionary, short-living creative music collective led by Gaetano Liguori, a main protagonist of Italian free jazz since the early 70s. It was an important attempt to put together young musicians from the two main towns in Italy, and its respective leading figures, Milan and Rome. Previous attempts to set up anything similar were, in fact, either frustrated by rivalries between the various personalities or were destined to be one-off events. Liguoris vision is simply wonderful here - even bolder and more expressive than on his previous works for PDU - and the energy which he summons and transmits throughout is extraordinary. The near-telepathic interplay of the core set of Gaetano Liguori on piano, Roberto Bellatalla on double bass, Filippo Monico on drums, Guido Mazzon on trumpet, and young musicians Edoardo Ricci, Giancarlo Maurino and Massimo Urbani on soprano and alto saxophones, is given a richly expanded sound palette by the addition of Danilo Terenzi on trombone, Roberto Del Piano on Fender bass and Sandro Cesaroni on flute. Theres something really magical about the reciprocity that occurs when he plays these exceptional improvisers and the album still possesses a "sense of the new" feel that is as gripping as anything recorded by Italian ensembles around the same time. The sound is strong and freely exploratory, at a level thats completely fresh and very striking, and is handled here with a wonderful balance between playful arrangements and fierce improvisations. Filled with power and imagination and originally released in 1976 on PDU." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present a reissue of Gaetano Liguori Collective Orchestras self-titled album, originally released in 1976. The Collective Orchestra was a visionary, short-living creative music collective led by Gaetano Liguori, a main protagonist of Italian free jazz since the early 70s. It was an important attempt to put together young musicians from the two main towns in Italy, and its respective leading figures, Milan and Rome. Previous attempts to set up anything similar were, in fact, either frustrated by rivalries between the various personalities or were destined to be one-off events. Liguoris vision is simply wonderful here - even bolder and more expressive than on his previous works for PDU - and the energy which he summons and transmits throughout is extraordinary. The near-telepathic interplay of the core set of Gaetano Liguori on piano, Roberto Bellatalla on double bass, Filippo Monico on drums, Guido Mazzon on trumpet, and young musicians Edoardo Ricci, Giancarlo Maurino and Massimo Urbani on soprano and alto saxophones, is given a richly expanded sound palette by the addition of Danilo Terenzi on trombone, Roberto Del Piano on Fender bass and Sandro Cesaroni on flute. Theres something really magical about the reciprocity that occurs when he plays these exceptional improvisers and the album still possesses a "sense of the new" feel that is as gripping as anything recorded by Italian ensembles around the same time. The sound is strong and freely exploratory, at a level thats completely fresh and very striking, and is handled here with a wonderful balance between playful arrangements and fierce improvisations. Filled with power and imagination and originally released in 1976 on PDU." - Black Sweat.

Repressed. "Italian maestro Piero Umiliani, during his period of fascination with psychedelic and electronic atmospheres, composed a good number of musical portraits dedicated, as this title reveals, to the problems of his time. In the early 70s, Italians were worried about the mafia, terrorism, and social conflicts; and one can sense that the music represents these anxieties in its experimental nature. Dark, disturbing, and unique in the long and extremely productive career of Piero Umiliani. And if, in 2015, titles like "Mondo in Crisi," "Problemi Sociali," "Azione Sindacale," and "Mafia Oggi" sound sadly relevant, its even more surprising to find that the music of Problemi dOggi (Problems of Today) still sounds alien and unique. The record, released under Umilianis M. Zalla alias in 1973, presents various styles, from Pink Floyd atmospheres (or The Braens Machine, if you prefer...) to compositions characterized by a great use of drum machines and Moog synthesizers. One listen to the beginning of the opening track "Produzione" justifies the words of Sean Canty (Demdike Stare), citing the music as the first techno/trance track in history. But between the grooves of this record, reissued here for the first time, its easy to find moments that many other artist and musicians -- from The Residents to Aphex Twin and Four Tet -- may have caught during their careers." - Black Sweat.

"Maestro Piero Umiliani returns in the alter ego guise of M. Zalla for the 1974 compositional library piece Mondo Inquieto (Restless World) via his far reaching, experimentalist imprint Sound Work Shop. Ambient tensions are represented via a dramatic cross fertilization of orchestral strings, layered synths and primeval percussion with the Maestro on moody, reflective compositional duties. Stand out cut "Strategia" ("Strategy") harnesses the dopest Wu Tang beats alongside swathes of high end electro blankets and is a sample classic aching to be reworked into further outer cosmos soundscapes. Black Sweat has again transferred the elements of this little known Umiliani microcosm into a respectful reissue via an integration of the stark, haunting sleeve design, laquer cutting from the original master tapes and Umilianis autograph notes on the project." - Black Sweat.

"This LP is a documentation of the very first meeting of Stuttgart-based minimalist jazz duo Fifty-Fifty and Swabian sound exploration society Metabolismus. All players draw from decades of experience with different forms of improvisation, using instrumental and electronic sounds known and unknown to spontaneously create an aural environment of complex simplicity. A wide spectrum of group mind expressions can be heard, from the purely abstract to moments of calm reflection. The title is a meditation on the idea of the impossible, beautifully represented by these words from Alexander Pope:
"Mad Mathesis alone was unconfined,
Too mad for mere material chains to bind,
Now to pure space lifts her ecstatic stare,
Now, running round the circle, finds it square."
The session was recorded during one afternoon in the summer of 2012 at Sumsilobatem Sound Studio on magnetic tape; any technical imperfections due to the spontaneous nature of the situation were kept in as part of the document. No digital technology was used in the making of this album. Cover art is hand-silkscreened; originally designed by Estuardo Maldonando. "Metabolic music saves you from a life of grey." --KF

"The incomparable Piero Umiliani (under his mysterious Moggi moniker) weighs in with another AWOL library gem of 1979. The Italian maestro goes resolutely left field and off track with an intra-personal exploration of the disturbed inner psyche within the human condition. Distressed electro beacons are unleashed as de-tuned predatory Carpenter-esque synth patterns come to the fore (check "Clavinet Suspence: for primal audio blastings to a lost unnamed 80s slasher movie). With the electric eighties buzzing on the horizon, Umiliani was quick to capitalize on this cultural shift, utilizing his Moog synthesizers to tap in to changing musical zeitgeists via cost cutting experimentations for TV, adverts and documentaries. Followers of the esoteric and strange can finally dig in here with this lavishly created reissue featuring original artwork, master tape laquer cutting and Umilianis autograph notes on the project." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present a reissue of Amazonia 6891: Sounds From Jungle, Natural Objects, Echo And Electronic Waves, originally released on cassette in 1986. The idea to evoke a deep journey in the Amazon rainforest has affected various musicians in the history of popular and experimental music, but compared to other works, this rare Amazonia 6891, released only on cassette in 1986, appears as totally original and extreme in his conception. Here, the interest in ethnomusicology of the expert Walter Maioli (part of Aktuala and Futuro Antico) is linked to a precise and comprehensive ecological, botanical, ethological and ethnographic perspective. In fact, starting from the sound recording of the ethnographer Pit Piccinellis collection of natural objects, the collected material for this work is re-elaborate in different times by the anthropologist and electronic pioneer Fred Gales and by Maioli himself. The result of this multi-disciplinary approach is a long, concrete poem of plant organisms, field recordings of verses and calls of tropical animals, futuristically mixed with electronic sounds, similar to the great experimental trials of Futuro Antico and Ariel Kalmas 1978 album, Osmose (BS 007LP). Listening to this imaginative collage is like looking into a precious cabinet of antiquities and curiosity, whose wonders of multi-colored cellular fragments are shaped in the synthesis of a single universal sound matter. The merger between the wild jungle, the mysterious voices of the aboriginals and the oscillation of the electronic waves, creates a spasmodic tension between amazing and heavenly moments, leaking obscure paths and alien sequences. Amazonia 6891 is a magic trip into the unknown wild, into abyss of creation of kaleidoscopic floras and faunas, simply a proposal for a synesthetic experience and multi-sensory." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present a reissue of Amazonia 6891: Sounds From Jungle, Natural Objects, Echo And Electronic Waves, originally released on cassette in 1986. The idea to evoke a deep journey in the Amazon rainforest has affected various musicians in the history of popular and experimental music, but compared to other works, this rare Amazonia 6891, released only on cassette in 1986, appears as totally original and extreme in his conception. Here, the interest in ethnomusicology of the expert Walter Maioli (part of Aktuala and Futuro Antico) is linked to a precise and comprehensive ecological, botanical, ethological and ethnographic perspective. In fact, starting from the sound recording of the ethnographer Pit Piccinellis collection of natural objects, the collected material for this work is re-elaborate in different times by the anthropologist and electronic pioneer Fred Gales and by Maioli himself. The result of this multi-disciplinary approach is a long, concrete poem of plant organisms, field recordings of verses and calls of tropical animals, futuristically mixed with electronic sounds, similar to the great experimental trials of Futuro Antico and Ariel Kalmas 1978 album, Osmose (BS 007LP). Listening to this imaginative collage is like looking into a precious cabinet of antiquities and curiosity, whose wonders of multi-colored cellular fragments are shaped in the synthesis of a single universal sound matter. The merger between the wild jungle, the mysterious voices of the aboriginals and the oscillation of the electronic waves, creates a spasmodic tension between amazing and heavenly moments, leaking obscure paths and alien sequences. Amazonia 6891 is a magic trip into the unknown wild, into abyss of creation of kaleidoscopic floras and faunas, simply a proposal for a synesthetic experience and multi-sensory." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present a reissue of Amazonia 6891: Sounds From Jungle, Natural Objects, Echo And Electronic Waves, originally released on cassette in 1986. The idea to evoke a deep journey in the Amazon rainforest has affected various musicians in the history of popular and experimental music, but compared to other works, this rare Amazonia 6891, released only on cassette in 1986, appears as totally original and extreme in his conception. Here, the interest in ethnomusicology of the expert Walter Maioli (part of Aktuala and Futuro Antico) is linked to a precise and comprehensive ecological, botanical, ethological and ethnographic perspective. In fact, starting from the sound recording of the ethnographer Pit Piccinellis collection of natural objects, the collected material for this work is re-elaborate in different times by the anthropologist and electronic pioneer Fred Gales and by Maioli himself. The result of this multi-disciplinary approach is a long, concrete poem of plant organisms, field recordings of verses and calls of tropical animals, futuristically mixed with electronic sounds, similar to the great experimental trials of Futuro Antico and Ariel Kalmas 1978 album, Osmose (BS 007LP). Listening to this imaginative collage is like looking into a precious cabinet of antiquities and curiosity, whose wonders of multi-colored cellular fragments are shaped in the synthesis of a single universal sound matter. The merger between the wild jungle, the mysterious voices of the aboriginals and the oscillation of the electronic waves, creates a spasmodic tension between amazing and heavenly moments, leaking obscure paths and alien sequences. Amazonia 6891 is a magic trip into the unknown wild, into abyss of creation of kaleidoscopic floras and faunas, simply a proposal for a synesthetic experience and multi-sensory." - Black Sweat.

"If his 1969 debut album, Dawn, offered a magical ethnic sound from an 80-string guitar-zither, American multi-instrumentalist Don Robertsons 1980 follow-up, Celestial Ascent, uses the Austro-Germanic instrument as a viaticum for a timeless journey into the depths of the soul and psyche. The album was originally released as a cassette, and this is its first reissue since then. Traditionally designed to accompany the singing of psalms in religious communities, here the zither is the perfect way to explore the power and the formal purity of the natural pentatonic scales of eastern derivation, investigated by Robertson in New York City at the end of the 60s. According to the same respect for the cosmic rhythms also found in Indian ragas, the album is divided into two parts: the first side ("Oracle of Love") is the music of the day, while the second ("Isis Unveiled") is the sound of the night. "Music for Elevation and Transformation" with an extraordinarily peaceful effect and a holistic and transcendent approach that aligns it with other investigations of the sacred sound, like those of Stephan Micus, Paul Horn, or Deuter." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present a reissue of Wayne Siegels Autumn Resonance/Domino Figures, originally released in 1983. A little-known, but extremely beautiful, post-minimalism album composed by Wayne Siegel when he was mid-twenties. Having moved to Denmark between 1979 and 1980, Siegel began to investigate the possibilities of a very personal language, contributing to the kaleidoscope of post-minimalism. These works are constructed around a relentless musical process that consists of delaying and repeating every element in a certain measure, without intentional alteration. Siegel called this process "Canon Technique", letting it become over time his obsession. Black Sweat Records proposes the awaited reissue of Siegels LP. Compared to the original 1983s release by Danish label Paula, this release includes authentic pictures from the performance of "Domino Figures", as to present the visual results of Siegels works as part of his contribution to contemporary arts. Also included are liner notes that echo the current value of Siegels experimental approach to sound. "Autumn Resonance" is a fast canon in which musical figures move quickly around the concert hall; measuring distances, Siegel emphasizes the interrelation of the individual piano, the acoustic of the concert hall and his mood as parts of an organic work. "Domino Figures", for 10-100 guitars, is a sound work that embodies the shape of a semicircle. The performers sit in a semicircle, performing a kind of slow chain reaction, where a choral texture is produced and evolves slowly. Widely renowned in its large number of declinations, it is presented here in a 42 guitars version, dedicated to the Danish guitarist Erling Møldrup." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat present a selection of the most radical, impressive works composed by Wayne Siegel when he was mid-twenties. Having moved to Denmark between 1979 and 1980, Siegel began to investigate the possibilities of a very personal language, contributing to the kaleidoscope of post-minimalism. These Early Works are constructed around a relentless musical process that consists of delaying and repeating every element in a certain measure, without intentional alteration. Siegel called this process "Canon Technique", letting it become over time his obsession. This CD includes contents from the original 1983 album Autumn Resonance/Domino Figures (BS 029LP) originally released by the Danish label Paula, along with the unedited pieces "Voices Recurrent" and "Music For 21 Clarinets". "Autumn Resonance" is a fast canon in which musical figures move quickly around the concert hall; measuring distances, Siegel emphasizes the interrelation of the individual piano, the acoustic of the concert hall and his mood as parts of an organic work. "Domino Figures", for 10-100 guitars, is a sound work that embodies the shape of a semicircle. The performers sit in a semicircle, performing a kind of slow chain reaction, where a choral texture is produced and evolves slowly. Widely renowned in its large number of declinations, it is presented here in a 42 guitars version, dedicated to the Danish guitarist Erling Møldrup. "Voices Recurrent" is performed by the solo cellist Morten Zeuthen, member of the legendary Contra Quartet. In "Music For 21 Clarinets", considered as sister work of "Domino Figures", Hans Christian Bræin, plays all 21 parts. Wayne Siegels early works can definitely be perceived as art installations, part of a transformation in music as drastic as open. Included liner notes echo the current value of Siegels experimental approach to sound." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present an expanded reissue of Telaio Magneticos Live 75, including unreleased tracks from the super groups only tour in 1975. Telaio Magnetico was composed of Franco Battiato, Lino Capra Vaccina, Juri Camisasca, Mino Di Martino, Roberto Mazza, and Terra Di Benedetto. In the mid 70s, the Italian underground scene seemed to mature an existential priority of yearning toward a new psychological universe, with a firm idea to colonize an uncharted space of a necessary and infinite path of spiritual redemption. In this context, the short experience of Telaio Magnetico was born from the confluence of the Battiatos experimental efforts, in works such as Sulle Corde Di Aries (1973), Clic (1974), and M.elle "Le Gladiator" (1975), and the Albergo Intergalattico Spaziales new esoteric electronics. A mosaic of metamorphic sounds and frequencies of unfamiliar constellations, the music of Telaio is an imaginary trimurti of "energy-cosmos-mind". Synths and Lowrey organs draw sidereal labyrinths and landscapes, scanned to infinity by a harmonic percussions arsenal. Whispering and radical improved vocals are lost as delusional fugues in centrifugal vortices and, at the same time, seem to offer a compendium of religious chants which evoke Tibetan choruses, Indian pujas or the Gregorian tradition. Reemerging sometimes as Sufi cadences and relaxations, or pastoral-tribal elements on which the chamber carpet of oboe blows like Arabs, Egyptians, or Moroccans pifferos. That traced is not only a galactic river, but also a Mediterranean circumnavigation: a unique creative moment that, in addition to the references with the German kosmische music and British space-rock, seems to be perfumed by the influence of Gurdjieffian mystic and even had roots in the minimalist drones of Terry Riley and La Monte Young, also drawing parallels to the contemporary research of authors such as Alvin Curran and the following explorations of Futuro Antico." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present a reissue of Zeits second album Il Cerchio Degli Antichi Colori, originally released in 1981. With Il Cerchio Degli Antichi Colori, Zeit re-propose their own vision of a new cultural multi-geographical mosaic without boundaries. The sound confirms the inspired and eclectic vein of previous work, suggesting a greater conviction and maturity of intent. The arrangements tend to dilate more alchemical and hypnotic sequences, while the range of inspirations (Balkan music, Greek, Turkish, Persian, African, etc.) and the poly-instrumentalism is more precious and varied. Decisively more experimental compositions such as "Gli Antichi Colori", "Nuovo Orizzonte", or "Kalimba", are indicative of an unparalleled executive expertise that flows into meditative and introspective delights by resonances now more obscure or solar. The compresence of popular European and Middle-East atmospheres act as a strong reminder to the world of dance, suggesting once again the charm of the meeting between East and West, in view of brotherhood and solidarity among peoples. So, the "Circle" relieves itself almost like a sound tale of distant and ancient Byzantine, Arab, and Christian novels, according to a nomadic spirit that finds in music the preferred journey to joy and love. This reissue includes a 7" with two unreleased live tracks, further enriching the repertoire of one of the most original group that Italy has ever known." - Black Sweat.

"Black Sweat Records present a reissue of Zeits Un Giorno In Una Piazza Del Mediterraneo, originally released in 1979. In the late 70s, the Italian music scenes renewed interest in sound research involved a stimulating fusion of popular elements, jazz improvisation, and suggestions of the middle-oriental classical heritage. Starting from the experience of Aktuala, the idea of a common "Mediterranean air" that could compare and harmonize rhythms and timbres of various regions, enlivened a large number of musicians. In this context, it also placed the short history of Zeit and one of their main member Andrea Tamassia, who played and recorded with Aktuala. Un Giorno In Una Piazza Del Mediterraneo, their first album, seems to be a continuation of Aktualas music. It presents a compendium of styles and shapes, a collection of letters and visual notes from various places (Greece, Italy, Turkey, Hungary, Maghreb, Balcan Area, etc.), rearranged in the form of a hypothetical diary, in order to create an unknown narrative scenario. In the music of Zeit, there are no formalistic or philological purposes, but it triumphs with an attitude of imaginative incorporation that is always changing. The rich poly-instrumentalism brings the rhythms of dance and ancient melodies, but also results in a palette of more abstract and ecstatic sounds, with rare experimental lyricism that approaches the Florentine ensemble to the significant European experiences of The Incredible String Band or Third Ear Band." - Black Sweat.